[whimsical, expectant
music plays]
[metal detector clatters]
[engine rumbling]
[man 1] We're at beautiful Hadlock
Field in downtown Portland, Maine,
home of the Portland Sea Dogs,
the Double-A affiliate
of the Boston Red Sox.
[announcer] Now let's say
the words that we have…
- ["Y.M.C.A." plays over speakers]
- Y.M.C.A. ♪
[Chris] We like to say we're not
really in the baseball industry.
We're in the
memory-making business.
We have no control, as
a minor-league team,
what happens on the field.
The Red Sox control what happens
on the field with the baseball.
What the Sea Dogs control
is the fan experience,
and so we want to make sure that fans can
come here and create lifelong memories.
[commentator] Hello, everybody.
A very happy Saturday to you.
Welcome into Hadlock Field
with your Portland Sea Dogs,
the Double-A affiliate
of the Boston Red Sox.
And we are just about set
here in Portland, Maine.
- [man 2] Let's go!
- [stadium organ plays]
Hey! You ain't
gotta go anywhere.
[commentator] The payoff.
That's called strike three.
- McDonough thought it was ball four.
- Badass, let me tell you.
[commentator] The first
out in the inning.
f*ck' horseshit!
Let's go.
Oh, for saying, "Let's
go," you f*ck' as*h*le?
For saying, "Let's go"?
[commentator] And the
home plate umpire…
Darren, do you understand
how bad you guys have been?
…has ejected the
Sea Dogs manager.
Do you understand that
these guys are competing
for f*cking… and you
guys are doing this sh*t?
What the f*ck is going
on with you guys?
The f*ck?
[mellow, pensive music plays]
These f*cking guys
are assclowns, bro.
[Chris] Major Leagues, you know,
there's a big focus on winning,
but we're here to create a very
special experience for our fans.
You know, we've got
one of the best mascots
in all of Minor League baseball.
He's actually the only
Minor League sports mascot
inducted into the Mascot Hall
of Fame, Slugger the Sea Dog.
[Chad] You guys are
f*ck' unbelievable.
And then the 3-1 pitch to
McDonough was a f*cking…
The f*ck are we doing?
[boy] Yo, Coach! Coach!
[man 3] Like, the strike zone
was terrible all weekend, Coach!
[boy] Take your… Take
your time! Give them sh*t!
They're f*ck' awful, bro.
The guy's the worst f*cking umpire
behind the plate I've ever seen.
[dog whines]
[Chris] There's four main
levels of Minor League Baseball,
Low-A, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A,
and then the big leagues.
Double-A being the
second-highest,
so these guys are on the cusp of
breaking into the big leagues.
[announcer] Designated hitter
number 18, Marcelo Mayer.
[fans whoop, applaud]
Mayer, the top prospect
for the Boston Red Sox.
There are a lot of highly-touted
prospects on this team.
We're very lucky to
have the top three
in the Red Sox system
with us all at one time.
Marcelo Mayer, the top
prospect for Boston,
along with Roman Anthony, the
second prospect in the system.
- [clack]
- [fans applaud]
[Rylee] And Kyle Teel,
the number three prospect
and the top catching
prospect with the Red Sox.
- You all right?
- [Darren] g*dd*mn it.
- Where'd it get ya?
- [Darren] Right in the as*h*le. Ugh!
[Rylee] These are guys that I really
do believe will be big leaguers
and hopefully making an impact
for the Red Sox pretty soon.
[Speier] When players enter
professional baseball,
usually that's an
exercise in daydreaming.
What… what possibility exists?
And then the years that they
spend in the Minor Leagues
tell you what they are.
But this is one of the most
significant assemblies of talent
that the Red Sox have had,
giving this glimpse of a group
that the Red Sox hope
is kind of the bedrock
of the organization
moving forward.
- [keyboard clacking]
- [music fades out]
[Craig] Having just gotten the job, you
know, in late October, early November,
I believe that, you know, we
had a really strong farm system
with really talented
players and great coaches.
That has turned out to be true.
But also, the reason I'm here
is because the Major League team finished
in last place over the last two years.
[contemplative music plays]
[Cora] The balance of developing
and winning at the big-league level
is hard to accomplish.
It's very hard.
Traditionally, teams that are
in a playoff race like to add.
They wanna fill holes.
Trading away a couple of prospects could
solve a need on the Major League level.
[Craig] The trade deadline represents
an opportunity to going all in.
Fans have built expectations that we're
going to compete every single year.
It's a critical decision,
and if you get it wrong, it can serve to
set the organization back sometimes years.
[indistinct chatter]
[Sean] Is it worth it to give up
some prospects at the deadline
to position the team
for the stretch run?
This is where we are.
That's where we wanna be.
- [acoustic guitar strumming]
- [players chattering]
[Kyle] Hey, I got a good
question for all of you guys.
Who do you take in a fight,
two gorillas or a grizzly bear?
[player 1] One gorilla
beats a grizzly bear.
- [Kyle] No chance. No chance.
- [player 1] Bro, yes.
Hey, what was the reason you
started playing guitar again?
Um, no, uh, I taught
myself in eighth grade
'cause I wanted
to pick up chicks.
- [players chuckle]
- [player 2] Fire way to pick up girls.
- [player 1] A fire way.
- [Kyle] It worked.
Picking up chicks with
a guitar, sixth tool.
- It's a good tool.
- [Kyle] Hey, I got a good question.
If you could understand the answer to
any one question, what would it be?
I don't know. That's
a deep question, bro.
You can get the
answer to anything.
- [player 3] So one question…
- Anything.
- …you can know the answer to.
- What's the pitcher gonna throw me?
- [Kyle] Hmm!
- That'd be sick.
- Sick.
- [Kyle] That's money right there.
- [chuckles] That'd have to be my answer.
- Yeah, for sure.
- I don't wanna know any of the deep stuff.
- Right.
That's gonna happen. I just wanna know
what the pitcher's gonna throw me.
- [chuckles]
- [guitar continues]
[Craig] Trying to
win tonight's game
while being anchored to what is best for
the organization can be really difficult.
But I think when you make those
decisions, you need to get them right.
[acoustic guitar
continues strumming]
- [ending chord rings out]
- [strumming fades]
[Kyle] All right. Let's go.
- Let's get some steak.
- [player] Yeah.
[Roman] Bro, that was good,
though. You were hitting it.
[horn honks]
[Sam] Today marks the end of
an intense search process,
uh, and it represents a new
chapter for our baseball operation.
I'll turn it over to the
new chief baseball officer
for the Boston Red
Sox, Craig Breslow.
[crowd applauding]
So I've watched a lot of baseball
games at Fenway Park. [chuckles]
Some from the stands,
some from the bleachers,
but most from the bullpen.
I know what it's like to
put on a Red Sox jersey.
I know what it's like
to stand on the mound.
I know what it means
to win in Boston.
I understand that some
of you will see me
as another Ivy League nerd with
a baseball front office job.
- [Sam chuckling]
- It's true. I am that.
But I'm also a
13-year big leaguer
and a 2013 Boston Red Sox
World Series champion.
And I know what it
takes to win here,
and I'm willing to make the hard
decisions necessary to deliver.
[man 1] Hey, Breslow!
[Sam] If we don't play
meaningful games in October
and, frankly, if we don't
win the World Series,
many, many, many people view
our season as a failure.
[woman 1] Breslow!
[Sam] That's the mindset
that we have to have.
- [man 2] Mind if I take a selfie with you?
- Yeah.
[Sam] Craig Breslow is incredibly
bright and hardworking,
but we haven't accomplished
anything together yet.
[woman 2] You're
doing a good job.
- [Craig] Despite what they say, right?
- Despite… Right.
[producer] So far,
do you like this job?
[chuckles] It's funny. Um…
I haven't given myself a chance to
decide whether or not I like the job,
because… day to day, there's not really
time to stop and think about that.
I enjoy thinking about how
great it's going to feel
to win here and share that
experience with the people of Boston,
but I suppose it's my
overly practical self
that kind of says, "Man, I don't have
enough time in the day to do the job."
I certainly don't have
enough time to remove myself
and ask whether or not I'm
enjoying it. [chuckles]
- All right.
- You're out?
- Yes. See you in Atlanta.
- I'll see you in Atlanta.
- Yeah. Awesome.
- Yeah. We'll obviously be in touch.
- Enjoy the family.
- Thank you.
Take it easy, guys.
Have a good trip.
Once I leave the field, it's
not as though my job is over.
I can never really unplug, turn off,
you know, put the phone on silent.
There's always the possibility
that something is critical and…
- [chime]
- [GPS] Turn left on Boylston Street.
…time sensitive that arises.
You know, a GM from
another team reaches out
and has interest in
one of our players,
or, you know, there's a
player who's available
that can make our team better.
And so, there's a huge
opportunity cost to stepping away.
Now I have to balance that with the
fact that I'm a father and a husband,
and my kids need to see me, and
I need to be present for them.
And I try to balance those
things as best I can.
[boy 1] I beat you
by a million miles!
[boy 2] Luke is first.
[woman] Anyone get hurt today?
[Craig] Um…
I saw the bat boy took
a foul ball to the chin.
- Oh, right to the… Bat girl.
- Oh, it was a girl?
- I saw that.
- Right to the chin.
- Did she get added to the IL? [chuckles]
- Stone faced. Like this.
[soft piano music plays]
All right, come
on, Mason. Come on.
[Mason grunts]
You keep doing this, it's
gonna keep going over there.
[coach chatters indistinctly]
[Mason grunts]
Darn it.
[Kelly] They're loaded, Mase.
Come on, Mason. Here we go.
- Attaboy.
- [clang]
- Catch that. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it.
- [boys chatter]
[Craig] Oh.
[producer] When you're
evaluating an eight-year-old,
are you tempted to bring some
analytics from the office?
When they throw, I tell
them as fast as they can.
When they swing, swing
as hard as they can.
When they run, I tell them to
run as fast as they can. Um…
That, eventually, is what
underlies good players.
[man 1] Strike three.
- [man 2] All right!
- [Craig] Mase. Mase.
[parents clapping]
- [Craig] All right, go get a knock.
- [indistinct chatter]
[man 3] All right,
boys. Who's ready?
Big third inning. You ready?
[music fades out]
[crowd chattering]
- [fans whistling]
- [stadium organ playing]
[producer] Are you guys letting yourselves
have some hopes for this season?
[man 1] I feel like we
kinda need to have hope.
I mean, the three of us have…
Since we started, they haven't
made the playoffs once.
So we've never worked
a playoff game.
[man 2] For the record, they have
a winning record when I'm working.
- I've tracked it.
- They definitely have when I'm working.
I've tracked my record
of games I work.
- My first ten, like 11 games…
- There were over 500.
My first 11 games, I was 10-1, even
though we were last in the division.
[Morris chuckles]
[producer] What would you
do at the trade deadline?
- [Morris] Pfft. Oh man.
- [Jake] Uh…
My dad wants us to trade
for Vladimir Guerrero, so…
- [Morris chuckles]
- I mean, I'd like that.
I don't know how
realistic that is.
[woman] I don't know. I think
we need some more power hitting.
I read a thing about maybe they
would trade for Pete Alonso,
but then there would be some…
They would have a
problem at first.
But Casas is supposed to come
back soon. That's a good bat.
[Sean] The Red Sox are in the position
of being the third wild-card spot,
as the July 31st trade
deadline approaches.
[rousing rock music plays]
[Speier] This season has
been a considerable surprise,
in terms of what the Red
Sox have accomplished.
They're at least within shouting
distance for a playoff spot.
Now, the tricky part with
the trade deadline is,
are they going to make
a big-splash addition?
[Sean] The trade deadline's
the last opportunity.
You're either a buyer
trying to get better,
or you're a team having
a disappointing season
that becomes a seller and trying
to acquire younger players
in exchange for your veterans who
aren't helping you enough right now.
[Ian] The trading
deadline is always
where you find out what vibe your
team is gonna have for the season.
Are we a team that's
just kinda going for it,
or are we a team that's
looking ahead to the future?
I think Breslow is gonna have a lot
of very interesting decisions to make.
He's gonna have to
look at this and say,
"Where we going with this team?
Can this team make the playoffs?"
"Would we benefit more from the
trading a veteran for prospects,
or should we ride it out with this
team and go for it down the stretch?"
Which they didn't do
the last two years.
[Cora] Last year, we were one game
behind at the trading deadline.
The year before, the same thing.
They didn't buy, and
we missed the playoffs.
When you're sitting
there for 162 games,
you feel like you
can do it, you know?
Like, up there, it's a little
bit different, you know?
They have to think about
the now, the future,
the business side
of it, where we at.
Yeah. I don't… I don't
have those conversations.
If we're in this situation this
year, and we're close… and we sell,
well, the message better be
a good one for the fan base.
[Sean] I think it's gonna
be a fascinating time
to watch Breslow operate,
having to determine do we
go for it at the deadline,
or do we sell off what we
have and keep getting better
until we're really ready
to compete for October?
[music fades out]
[indistinct chatter]
…City, Houston, Seattle, like, those
are the four I remember being there.
[Craig] All right, so we've…
We've got a tall task ahead of
us for the next five days or so.
The overall playoff
picture is pretty cloudy.
I've been adamant, right,
about we have to pick a lane.
You know, we… we can't really take
this, like, buy-sell hybrid approach.
I think there are three needs.
Right-handed hitter, starting pitching,
and then right-handed reliever.
Not necessarily that we don't
have talented guys there,
but they're… they're overworked.
The other thing
we have to address
is four guys are gonna be free
agents at the end of the season,
in O'Neill, Pivetta,
Jansen, and Martin.
[rock music plays]
And that means if a team comes forward
and is willing to blow us out of the water
with asks on… on any of those
guys, we have to listen.
So the four guys that are going to be
free agents at the end of the season,
they are really good players.
They've helped put us in the
position that we are right now,
and for that reason, it's very,
very difficult to trade them,
knowing the impact they could
have on the rest of our season.
But it's for the exact same reasons
that other teams are interested in them,
and so trying to find the
appropriately high threshold
to navigate this is
what we struggle with.
But the line that I keep using is "We
need to do what's best for the Red Sox."
[man] We have an analyst who built
this really cool app that said,
"If we trade away certain players,
what'll it do to our expected wins?"
So using O'Neill as an example,
we lose about 9% to
10% playoff odds.
In a perfect world, if we were to trade
Tyler O'Neill as a right-handed bat,
but we could get a
right-handed bat back,
especially one with control,
like, that's a great outcome.
[Giolito] When you get drafted,
the team that drafted you has
control over you for six years.
And once those six years
are up, you're a free agent,
and that is the first
time in your career
that you get to seek compensation
at a free-market value.
O'Neill is going to be a free
agent at the end of this season.
He's a guy that made a
tremendous impact right away.
He starts the season as their…
their best hitter, really.
He carried the team
for… for days at a time.
[Will] A swing and a drive.
That one hammered, way up there.
- And gone!
- [crowd cheers]
[Will] He hit the
daylights out of it.
Red Sox keep talking about how
they're looking for right-handed bats.
Where would they be without that
right-handed hitter, Tyler O'Neill?
He so openly talked about
wanting to stay here.
He loves playing
for the Red Sox.
[chuckles] They're
loving it too.
[Sean] He's become a
pretty popular player.
The question is, is whether he'll
be able to finish the season here.
O'Neill could very well be a guy
that gets sold at the deadline.
Or do the Red Sox keep him
with the understanding that he could
leave as a free agent after the year,
and they get next to
nothing for him in return?
That's a sort of no-man's-land that
Breslow does not want to find himself in.
[pensive music plays]
- [birds chirping]
- [music fades out]
[dog barking]
[O'Neill] I really like to be able
to work in my own environment,
just having a tee and home plate
and just figuring it out all myself.
So this kinda gave me
the opportunity for that.
It's nothing crazy.
It's like 40 feet or so.
Hi, Audrie girl.
Yeah, no, it's plenty wide. It just
gives me everything I need, right?
You know, I got my own Trackman,
so I like to set her up right
behind home plate and then,
you know, it's long enough where
it gives me enough of a read
that it can calibrate the
batted-ball data most of the time.
You know, it's like, obviously,
it would like to track it
a little further sometimes,
so it'll miss some,
but it helps me stay small.
- It helps me work small.
- [Audrie babbles]
It gives me video feedback,
tells you where the ball goes.
Usually, it tells me where it is
in the strike zone that it hits.
- [Stephanie] Whoa.
- [O'Neill] Ninety. [exhales]
- [Stephanie] Pretty good off the tee.
- No warm-up, so… [chuckles]
- [Stephanie] No warm-up. [chuckles]
- I'll do my routine down here.
Steph will come down and
do some flips for me,
and then I'll have all the camera
and batted-ball data that I need.
[intriguing music plays]
Go middle in,
Steph. Go middle in.
- Okay, that's good.
- [Stephanie] Awesome.
Boston's been amazing so far.
It's been such a… an
easy transition for us,
which you never know how it's
gonna go when you're traded.
Yeah, I know, and playing in Fenway Park
every day is like a dream come true.
For sure, and it's, like, maybe…
maybe it's only this year.
- [Stephanie] We don't know.
- I don't know. Maybe…
- [Stephanie] Maybe two months.
- …till August 2nd.
I don't know what that
looks like. I hope not.
- [Stephanie] We don't know.
- I hope it's longer than that, but…
[Stephanie] At the end of the
day, it's still a business.
It's still business.
Nobody's got a fortune-teller ball to
tell you the truth of what's coming.
And hopefully, like,
Craig Breslow decides
that you guys are buyers at
the deadline and not sellers,
and we can enjoy another
few months here, you know?
Hopefully the team's
performance is strong enough
that it kind of forces
the hand that way too,
'cause obviously Craig's trying to
put a winning product on the field,
and, you know…
Well, we've seen how electric
Boston can be when we're winning.
- That place is… it's a fun place to play.
- The fans really show up.
- And Audrie loves the environment there.
- [O'Neill kisses]
We literally got off the
elevator during your games there,
and she's like
dancing and clapping
'cause it's just, like, so
energizing in that ballpark.
[Audrie babbles]
- Audrie, can you walk to Daddy again?
- [babbles]
Walk to Daddy. Walk to Daddy.
Walk to Daddy.
- [Stephanie] Nope. [laughs]
- Oh.
[Stephanie] As soon as you ask
her, "I'm gonna go the easy way."
She literally just did.
I think we're a
pretty good team.
We definitely have a chance, you know,
at the wild card, I would say, this year.
You know, Baltimore and New
York, they look like they're…
they're kinda running up there a
little bit in terms of games ahead.
So it just depends on
the boys staying healthy
and staying in
routine, you know?
It's the toughest part about this game,
you know, staying healthy for 160 days.
[car horns honking]
[Casas] I'm pretty bummed
out about everything.
I haven't been able to do
much, you know, for right now,
catch up on, like, big-boy
activities, I guess.
So, yeah… maybe I take up an
instrument or something in this time.
I'm trying to stay positive.
I'm low maintenance. I don't
need a lot, so a bed and a TV,
reading, watching shows.
I hate watching baseball
though. I never watch baseball.
I, uh… [breathes deeply]
It just makes me upset, so I don't
even… I don't even tap into it.
What's up, Will? How we doing?
- Hey, Triston. How's it going?
- [Casas] Nice to see you. Good.
[dance music plays
over speakers]
[Giolito] Damn.
Jose Abreu released.
[Casas] He's washed.
He had his time.
[Giolito] Thirty million
bucks they're gonna give him.
That's it?
[Giolito] Here's $30 million.
Don't play anymore. It's crazy.
Isn't that what
we're doing to you?
It's a little different.
-[chuckles]♦
-[player] You ready?
[Giolito] That's what we're doing
to you, but for what? 500? 700?
Minimum?
Okay, I hit six homers this year.
That's, like, worth 700,000.
- [Giolito] It is.
- If I didn't play again,
they'd get their money's
worth, ultimately.
[Giolito] Do you have a w*r
point? Did you get to one?
No, I have like 0.3.
- [Giolito] That's 700K.
- Right.
- [Giolito] There ya go.
- [chuckles]
- You played up to your value. [chuckles]
- [Casas] Exactly.
[Craig] We are a much better
team when he's in the lineup.
He's a young player that should
be in the middle of our order
for a really long time,
and, you know, what he adds,
not just by his own presence
and what he's capable of doing,
but the way it
lengthens the lineup,
and it probably takes some pressure
off Raffy and guys like Jarren.
And it's really difficult
to miss that much time,
but we've gotta play
good baseball here.
[rhythmic music plays]
[Will] You know, first
of all, get us updated.
It's been a huge loss not
having you in the lineup.
I know it's driving you nuts,
but update us on your
rehab with the injury.
Right. Driving me nuts too,
driving you guys, everybody.
But it's tough,
'cause if the team's doing
well, I wanna be a part of it,
and if they're doing bad, I feel
I can contribute a little bit.
You know, I'm trying to find a balance
between activity and staying in shape,
but also trying to let it recover
and give it some time to heal.
So it's just been a weird
recovery process up to now.
[man 1] The rehab world and the IL
can be a f*cked-up, shitty-a*s place.
They've taken away what
we love the most, right?
They've taken the game.
So setting those little daily goals, "All
right, tomorrow, I'm gonna get this,"
just makes it something
to look forward to.
[Giolito] I got fat.
I was lead to believe
you were eating healthy
and walking on the treadmill.
I walk on the
treadmill every day.
- [chuckles]
- Not enough.
[Giolito] This stinks.
Now, my normal is rehab.
It's just, like,
extremely boring.
- I don't know. What are you gonna do?
- [woman] Yeah.
I can't believe how
fast you're recovering.
f*ck, Brad.
[woman chuckling] He asked the
surgeon if he could throw this year.
- And he was like, "No."
- "No."
- [chuckles]
- Worth a shot.
Oh, this is what's
called "eyewash."
- Right.
- All of this bullshit.
- [man 2] It's the most important thing to…
- f*ck you, Nick.
The most important
thing to do is throw.
- [Nick] Straight extension.
- Throw a hunch.
It's important
and it's very helpful to have these
goals and to have these benchmarks,
but understand that
they're very fluid.
We were supposed to swing today,
but, "Man, I just don't feel right."
Let's wait an extra day.
[Hendriks grunts]
God f*cking damn it!
- [man 3] Rehab isn't linear.
- f*ck!
[man 3] Some days, I'm going
to have to take a step back
to go two steps forward.
[Hendriks] f*ck me.
- [man 3] You're gonna be slow…
- [grunts]
…and I know you guys
wanna get back fast.
[Grissom] How many minutes would
you last with me wrestling?
You're assuming that you would
win in a wrestling match with me?
Right.
[Casas] Sometimes as a guy who's
on the IL, you can feel alienated.
You know, I'm not really in the middle
of the grind with all the same guys.
- I'm stronger than you.
- No.
- I'm taller.
- I'll give you bigger.
I'll give you bigger than
me, but stronger than me, no.
[Casas] Maybe I could have
gained some type of perspective
or maybe getting this
time away from the game,
um, maybe could've
helped me somehow.
But, you know, getting
better happens on the field.
You know, it happens in at-bats.
I'm way longer than you.
What are you talking about?
[Garrett] When you're on the IL,
your biggest job on the team
is support in any way you can,
just be a really good teammate.
- Hey, good turn. Attaboy.
- [Giolito] It's a very exciting team.
Obviously, I wanted to kind
of, like, anchor that rotation,
but they have been
such a blast to watch.
[producer] Are you a buyer or a
seller right now for the Red Sox
leading into the trade deadline?
[chuckles] Yeah, always buying.
[man on radio] James Paxton got
DFA-ed today by the Dodgers.
If you're a building team, is James
Paxton a pitcher you wanna go get?
What type of team would
want a James Paxton?
[rhythmic music plays]
[Craig] James Paxton,
he's a really good fit for
us, given he's left handed,
which is something
that we don't have.
- [crowd cheers]
- [commentator] Devers is gone.
A starting pitcher was pretty
high on our target list.
I would put him in the rotation,
balance out the five
right-handed starters.
We would have a conversation
about what we do with
whoever he displaces.
Obviously, we want to talk to AC about
it, but that's how I'd approach it.
Yeah. I think we should do it.
If anybody wants to stand on the
table and scream that we shouldn't…
Being able to get that done four
days, five days, whatever it is,
out from the deadline gives us a
chance to kind of exhale a little bit
and shift our focus to
some other priorities.
All right, we got a Paxton.
- [man 1] Nice.
- All right.
Yeah. Pending medical.
Uh, pending medical.
- [man 2] On it.
- Yeah.
- Nice.
- [Craig] All right.
[rhythmic music continues]
[man 3] Craig Breslow is going to
work here at the trade deadline.
- [ball thwacks]
- [player] Oh my gosh.
[man 3] They just made a
trade for James Paxton,
in which they dealt away a
17-year-old kid in Moises Bolivar.
To see Breslow do that early,
get Paxton, not give up much,
it's a good sign to everybody,
the fans, Alex Cora, and more importantly,
the players in that clubhouse.
They've made a
commitment to this team.
Go out and get it, guys,
'cause we believe in you.
[Craig] One action item for
today would be to get those deals
for O'Neill, Pivetta,
Martin, Jansen.
You know, in a perfect world,
a controllable right-handed bat
beats the rental
right-handed bat.
You know, a controllable relief
pitcher over a rental relief pitcher.
If there's a chance to make
the team better right now,
we should strongly consider it,
a chance to make the team better
in the future, we should
strongly consider it.
All right, why don't we take
a little break, make calls,
um, and then we can get
back together here shortly?
All right? Thanks, guys.
[man 3] Now go get
a right-handed bat,
don't give up much, stay
away from the big three
in Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony,
and as well as Kyle Teel,
and go make another deal.
[car horns honking]
[producer] Is it hard
to be home and present?
It seems like it's a
job that's never done.
I don't think it's hard.
I think it's impossible.
Uh, because I think in two minutes
I'm probably gonna get a call,
and that's going to be, you
know, one… piece of information
as to whether or not we can, uh,
you know, try to execute this, like,
potentially sign a new player,
but have him here for tomorrow.
Trying to balance all of
those things while also
knowing I need to put the kids to
bed here shortly is… [chuckles]
- Hey, dude.
- [Mason] Hey, Dad.
- [Craig] What's up?
- [Mason] Not much.
- [Mason chuckles]
- [Kelly] Um…
You waited for me.
What are you doing in the morning?
We don't have any breakfast here?
- Blackbird makes breakf… Uh…
- [smartwatch buzzing]
- Oh.
- [buzzing continues]
Wait. Hang on here, guys.
Hey, Brad. It's Bres.
How are you doing?
Good. I feel like we've been…
- [indistinct chatter]
- [soft, brooding music plays]
[Kelly] We were married in 2013…
11 days after he had just won
the World Series for the Red Sox.
It's hard for others to
understand what this life is like.
When he was playing,
he would come home for
like a 24-hour window.
If he had an off day, he
would fly in to see the kids.
It's a lot more isolating than I think
people would think for the families.
[indistinct chatter]
[Kelly] Players leave for all of
February and March for Spring Training,
and then there's 162 games of
being away from your family.
- Can you see Daddy?
- [Mason] I see Daddy.
[Kelly] That's a lot
of bedtimes to miss…
- Hi, Daddy.
- [Mason] Hi, Daddy.
…birthday parties to miss…
funerals to miss.
It's hard for others to
understand what this life is like.
- And so where you guys are right now…
- [Craig] Yeah.
- …so what decisions are coming?
- [music fades]
I mean, the elephant in the room is gonna
be what we do at the trade deadline.
When do you feel is the point at which
it's the go or no-go when you decide
for the season, or does
it change every day, or…?
Even if we went into
the season saying,
"Hey, like, we're
absolutely ready to compete,
or we're absolutely not ready,
like, the most compelling data
is what's happening on the field.
Right? Like, there's only 29
other people in my position.
There's only one team that's
gonna win the World Series,
so I don't want to
f*ck it up. [chuckles]
What do you worry about?
Like, I wouldn't say I'm worried
about the trade deadline.
I feel like finally
we're in a place
where, I mean, a lot of
things could happen to you,
but getting traded is not one at this
point, so I feel stable with that.
I just came from a baby shower,
and I do feel like,
on my side of things,
I think,
as I was talking to the girls tonight,
I was like, "Oh, when are you due?"
And I'm thinking, "Ugh, I can
remember that feeling of being like,
'What if you got traded
right after the boys were born
or before the boys were born?'"
And so I feel like I
have secondhand stress
for all of the
family side of that.
- I also feel…
- [soundscape fades]
I can tell you what it's like
to be sitting home and wondering
if your husband's getting traded
and that feeling of, "How
comfortable should I be here?"
"Should we start packing?"
I know the nagging of, "Do you
think you're gonna get traded?"
Like, "What do you think
we should be doing?"
"Do you think I should start packing up?"
Like, "Do you think I should go home?"
[Garrett] Hey, buddy.
[Kelly] That uncertainty right now
in a lot of homes is probably high.
[soft, brooding music plays]
He's still asleep.
[Kelly] It's a stressful time
of year, I think, for everyone.
[music fades]
- [cars honking]
- [indistinct street chatter]
[telephones ringing
in background]
[Craig] The team has
played really well.
We have put ourselves in a place
where we are focused on
trying to improve the club.
That's how we're
gonna spend our time.
We've talked about needing a
starting pitcher, needing a reliever,
needing a right-handed bat.
We are super excited to…
to continue down this path
because we're playing really
good baseball right now.
[cell phone buzzing]
Oh, I've gotta… I
gotta grab this, guys.
- [producer] Okay.
- Yeah.
[producer] And we can't film it?
[door opens]
[Craig] Hey. What's up, man?
[Kelly] He told me he probably
wasn't going to be home
at all until the trade deadline…
Like, at nighttime,
until the trade deadline.
I think he wants to make
the playoffs this year.
He also would like to make
the playoffs next year
and the year after and the year
after, so… it'll be interesting,
even for me, to see
kind of what happens.
[Cora] What up? What up?
- [Craig] We can do the Jansen thing.
- [Cora] Okay.
[Craig] So I just wanted to,
before we give the final yes,
just kind of talk through it…
- Pulls the ball.
- [Craig] He's a really good fit here.
- Like…
- He hits it hard.
[Craig] Yeah. So I
think we should do it.
Our best lineup on paper is
going to be Jansen catching.
I recognize there's a lot more
involved in that, but, like…
- Yeah. Cool.
- …wanted to check in.
- Yeah. There you go.
- [Craig] I'll give you a text.
- One down.
- [Craig chuckles]
- One down.
- [Craig] Yeah.
[tense music plays]
[Craig] All right, I talked to Alex.
We talked through playing time.
Given where we are, we should do
it. So we gotta give them the okay.
- [man] Yeah.
- Get medicals exchanged.
Think we got ourselves
a right-handed hitter.
- All right.
- [Craig] All right.
- All right, I'll call 'em.
- Yep.
So trade for… for Danny Jansen,
right-handed-hitting catcher, uh,
which is a little bit complicated
in that we have a really good
right-handed-hitting catcher right now.
Um, but fortunately, Connor is
athletic, can bounce around the diamond.
I think there's an opportunity to find
significant at bats for both those guys.
- [man 1] You leak it to the media yet?
- In two seconds.
[men chuckle]
It's a lot of mixed emotions.
It just kind of happened.
I think I saw it on the TV
right away. Um… but, um…
Yeah, you know, it's…
um, mixed emotions.
[Craig] We ended up giving up
three Minor League prospects.
We think they're really good players,
but in order to get a good player,
you have to give
up good players.
- Feeling pretty good?
- [man 2] Yeah.
- [Craig chuckles]
- Very good.
[Craig] All right, so we
came into this thinking
starting pitcher,
right-handed bat, reliever.
Let's shift focus to a
right-handed reliever, all right?
[tense music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[music fades out]
- [man 1] Yeah, Wilyer.
- [man 2] Yeah, faster.
[player in Spanish] To Wilyer.
Wilyer. That was great.
[Giolito in English] I'm rarely out
here. You guys gave me a good excuse.
What happened to you?
I had, uh… It's called
the internal brace.
- [Casey] Yeah.
- Can you still throw as hard?
Hopefully I throw
harder when I come back.
- Really?
- [Giolito] But I have to miss this year.
- You gotta miss the whole year?
- Yeah. Luckily, I signed a two-year deal.
- So…
- You got it right. [laughs]
- You're in my favorite movie of all time.
- What's that?
- Saving Private Ryan.
- Oh man. Yeah, that's a good one.
But, yeah, it's weird. I, uh…
I do this for a living, but my
whole family's in entertainment.
- Right.
- [Giolito] My mom was an actress.
My grandfather was an actor.
My little brother's an
actor now, actually.
- Oh really?
- Yeah.
He's in LA, just like
grinding auditions.
- I've been there.
- Yeah.
- It is a constant hustle. It never stops.
- [Giolito] Yeah.
And now with what's going on with,
like, generative AI and sh*t…
- …it's gonna get so weird. It's like…
- [Giolito] Oh sh*t. Yeah.
- You know, it's… it's a weird time for us.
- [Giolito] The AI thing is a little scary.
Yeah, we got it too. We're gonna
bring in the robot umpires soon.
- Oh really?
- Yeah.
It's looking that way. They're gonna
test them out next Spring Training.
And they're good?
- [Giolito] Yeah, they are. Yeah.
- [woman] Oh my God.
[upbeat music plays
over speakers]
- [Cora] Who's the other guy?
- [man 3] Casey Affleck.
- [Cora] Actor?
- Yeah, it's Ben Affleck's brother.
- [Cora] Oh, okay.
- [man 3] He's got the same, like, talent…
[Cora] What's going on? Nah.
- How you doing? Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. Big fan.
- [Cora] What's up, man? Good?
- Good to see you.
- Yeah, good. How you doing?
- [Cora] I'm good.
- Attaboy.
- [Cora] Yeah, I'm doing good, yeah.
The boys are playing well,
and it's been fun, right?
- [Matt] Oh, it has.
- Yeah. So… see what happens.
I'm worried with Matt getting in here,
it's gonna jinx things. Know what I mean?
- [laughs]
- [Cora] Oh, well… Nah, nah. He'll be fine.
- Five and a half minutes like that.
- We'll be fine.
- Throwing out the first pitch today?
- Yeah. Last time I did was '04.
- Come on.
- Oh, okay. Good.
- That was two years ago. [laughs]
- [both chuckle]
[clack]
[Will] It is just a spectacular
setting here in Boston
for the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Trades going left and right. The
Red Sox have acquired Danny Jansen,
the catcher from the Toronto Blue Jays,
who you would assume is coming over
to not only make the Red Sox a
little bit more right-handed,
but to back up Connor Wong.
You wonder what that
means for Reese McGuire.
Rumors flying like crazy.
It is that time of year. Two days
to go until the trade deadline.
Then, as of this exact moment,
the Red Sox are closing in
on both the Yankees and
the Baltimore Orioles.
They are 3.5 games back of the
Yankees and five behind Baltimore,
with a big game looming
here tonight at Fenway Park.
Hey, guys.
- Hey. What are you doing out here?
- What are you doing out here?
- [Nick] I catch first pitch.
- Oh.
[Andy] Who are you
catching today?
[Nick] Uh… Ben
Affleck's brother.
- Lucas has, uh, Matt Damon.
- [Holt] Wow.
[Cora] Did you pitch on Monday?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- [Cora] Wow.
- I know.
- Things might change in two days.
- You never know.
- No, no, no, no.
- [chuckles]
- They're not gonna change.
It's done. What's done is done.
[expectant music plays]
[Will] So here come the Red Sox.
Kutter Crawford is on the mound.
The former Boston Red Sock, now in
his first year with the Yankees,
is Alex Verdugo.
- [crowd booing]
- [Will] He's getting ready for some boos.
[booing continues]
[inaudible]
[Joe] 1-0 pitch, swing, and a line
drive hammered deep to right field,
back by the bullpen,
and this ball is off the wall.
And Verdugo's only at first.
Oh, he thought it was gone.
He only got to first base.
[Will chuckles]
Get out of the box, Dugie, f*ck!
- This isn't New York, Dugie!
- [Story] That's unbearable!
[Joe] Here's Juan Soto now.
He's hot again with 26 homers.
2-1, he doesn't go.
And the pitch is in, high to
right-center field and deep,
back by the bullpen,
and it is gone!
Two-run homer,
Soto, 2-0 Yankees.
[Will] A little alarming how many Yankee
fans are here. That was very loud.
[Joe] Tough start. Here's
Aaron Judge, and the pitch.
Swing, and there's a high drive,
left field. This one's long gone.
Wow, over everything and
deep into Lansdowne Street.
The contact is deafening.
f*ck!
[player] I mean, that
1-2 punch is, bro, crazy.
[Joe] Bottom of the first inning,
first and third still one out.
If the Red Sox get even two to cut
into that lead, it would be huge.
The pitch, swing and a
drive, left-center field.
- On the go is Grisham, toward the gap.
- [music lifts]
He dives. He can't get
it. It gets by him.
It goes all the way to the
wall. One run has scored.
Raffy being waved home, and the
tying run crosses the plate.
And the Red Sox have tied
it, just like that at three.
What a wild start
tonight at Fenway Park.
Hey, great inning, boys!
[music abates]
I got them… That's the only
runs they score tonight, boys.
Yeah. Oh God.
[Will] And Cabrera
lifts one down the line.
Abreu towards the corner,
all the way to the track.
- He leaps up into the crowd!
- [commentator] Did he get it?
- [Will] And he held on!
- [commentator] No way. Has he got it?
If he dropped it, it's a home
run. If he held on, it's an out.
And now, the first base umpire is gonna
say home run, he could not hold on.
- Wow. What action we have had.
- [commentator] Whoo.
Only an inning and
a half in the books,
and it's the Yankees,
four, the Red Sox, three,
second and third, nobody out.
The pitch, swing, fly ball,
shallow right-center field.
Grisham coming on,
still coming hard.
He makes a running catch,
and the runners hold.
[players chatter]
[umpire] He's out.
[Will] Rafaela could've scored,
and he's been called out.
Did they have a hidden ball
trick on? Yes, they did.
- [Joe] Oh my.
- [Will] They tagged Ceddanne out at third.
Wow.
They snuck in the
little league move.
[Joe] Red Sox,
five, Yankees, five.
What a wild one as we go to the
bottom half of the fifth inning.
[chuckles] That's all
we've played so far,
and plenty of action
all the way around.
And here's Tyler O'Neill, who's
six of his last 13, hitting a .268,
20 homers and 39 knocked in.
[mellow, pensive music plays]
[O'Neill] I'm just grateful to
an organization like Boston.
It's been awesome
these last few months.
You know, the friendships and
the chemistry in the clubhouse,
and the boys are just
bumping and vibing.
I'm just really enjoying
it. I'm really enjoying it.
And it's something I haven't
felt in… in a long time.
[music continues]
- [umpire] Strike.
- [O'Neill] Baseball's so tough.
It's so hard to score up a round ball
and a round bat when it's moving at 95,
a couple different ways,
off-speed off of it.
Like, it's tough. You gotta
be balanced. You gotta see it.
And you gotta be
mechanically stable.
The only focus I'm
on is that baseball.
Let's go compete. Let's win this
at bat. Let's win this pitch.
[Joe] He drives one high
to left field and deep.
- This one is long gone, over everything…
- [crowd cheering]
[Joe] …deep into Lansdowne Street,
and the Red Sox regain the lead, 6-5.
- [cheering continues]
- [funky rock music plays]
[Will] Here we go
with Cam Booser,
who's just been fantastic
for the Red Sox of late,
and what a spot this is.
First and third with one out.
Here's the pitch, and it is
popped up into center field.
Duran camping out underneath.
Tagging at third is Judge.
Jarren makes the play,
tagging, throwing is Duran.
- It is a little late.
- [crowd groans]
[Will] And the game
is tied at six.
Put the Sox ahead did Tyler
O'Neill in the fifth inning,
but we're tied again at six.
The 1-2, swing and a high
drive into left field.
This thing is back, at the wall!
- Gone!
- [cheering erupts]
[Will] Into the front
row of the Monster seats
for the second time tonight.
Tyler O'Neill puts the
Sox ahead with a homer.
It is 7-6.
[commentator] The left field Green Monster
looms large when you miss your pitch
against a dangerous right-handed
hitter like O'Neill.
A lot of intrigue. Again, trade
deadline 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
Joe, listen up.
With all due respect, with
all due respect, you're wrong.
He says Kyle Teel has two more
years until he's playing with us.
[Nick] Who said that?
Our Double-A catcher,
our number-one prospect,
who's got an eight-something
OPS in Double-A.
I said, "They could
possibly trade Wong."
And he goes, "Oh, Wong's
not going anywhere."
- I go… "Well, he could though."
- Of course. He could.
[Refsnyder] Wong could be a
really good trading piece.
- g*dd*mn neck.
- Logical. You're always logical, Rob.
[player 1] Hey, come on. We
gotta win, or TO's f*cking gone.
[player 2 laughs]
- [tense music plays]
- [Will] To the ninth we go.
Kenley Jansen on for the save,
with the Red Sox holding on by one.
[Joe] 8-7, Boston,
two out, 9th inning.
A lot of pressure.
So Trent Grisham, the batter. Jones
at third with two down in the ninth.
And the big right-hander fires.
And a strike over the
inside edge, great cutter.
[Will] Our new close friends
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck
were playing catch before the
game, and Kenley yelled out,
"Tell Jason Bourne
not to k*ll me."
[both chuckle]
When he has no room for error…
he… he goes right after it, bro.
It's when he has, like, a three-run
lead or a two-run lead that he…
[Will] Well, this is just so
critical on a number of levels,
but most of all, because Kenley
is the last high-leverage reliever
available in the bullpen.
I mean, this thing goes to extras,
who knows what Alex would do?
[Joe] The 2-2 to Grisham.
Swing and a drive,
left-center field, hit well.
Back goes Duran on
the warning track.
O'Neill, it's going to hit
off the wall and tie the game.
- [crowd groans]
- [Joe] A Fenway wall scraper.
And we're tied at eight.
This would really
hurt to lose this one.
[Will] And it's Chase Anderson,
the game's 15th pitcher,
on for the 10th inning with
a man in scoring position.
[tense music continues]
This has totally underscored
the need for more bullpen depth.
2-1 with two down, the pitch.
Swing and a high drive into
deep left-center field.
Back to the wall, and
it is off the wall.
Two runs will score.
Soto and Judge come home,
and it is 11-8, Yankees.
Ouch.
Most everybody up
here at Fenway Park,
with two down in the
bottom of this 10th inning.
And here is Masa.
1-2, the pitch, swing,
a ground ball to first.
LeMahieu has it. He'll
take it to the bag.
He wins the footrace,
and the ballgame is over.
Yankees win it, 11-8.
The Sox were one out away in
the 9th from a really great win.
They couldn't get it done,
and the Yankees have knotted this
three-game series at a game apiece.
[somber music plays]
[man 1] I'm not giving up.
I'm not throwing in the towel.
I mean, I'd say, you just gotta
take that one on the chin.
[man 2] This team needs so much,
and just to be competitive,
like, the bullpen's shot.
[man 1] Tuesday's
the trade deadline.
Can the Red Sox even do enough
to help what this team needs?
Can they even do enough to plug
the holes that need to be plugged?
[man 3] The answer's
obvious. You gotta get guys…
You have to get relievers.
[man 1] James Paxton, sure, why
not? You need… you need innings.
Danny Jansen, oh, uh, I guess.
Fine. Sure. Okay.
But, like, none of
those moves are great.
[man 4] Yeah, not great.
[Craig chatters inaudibly]
[somber music continues]
[reporter 1] And
today, of course,
was the Major League
Baseball trade deadline,
and it has just passed
ten minutes ago.
And the Red Sox got a
deal in at the wire.
The Red Sox added two
players, both relievers.
Craig Breslow, his
first trade deadline.
He made some moves at least.
You were a buyer. You
were not a seller.
But you didn't trade a top-ten
prospect in the system,
and you didn't trade a single
player off of the active roster.
[mellow guitar music plays]
[Craig] There's a few
months left in the season,
and everyone will evaluate these moves
from kind of this moment forward.
There's a chance over the
next two or three months,
we did make a huge splash.
We just, you know… Uh, we have
to let that play out, right?
If Danny Jansen comes in and
has a great couple of months
or Paxton comes in and starts like
he… like he did against us a week ago,
then that was the big splash.
[reporter 2] What is it like leaving
a place you've been for so long?
Yeah, strange, for sure. Um…
I've been there for a long time.
Uh, I've got two beautiful kids now.
I've had my family out there
throughout the seasons, and all that.
So, yeah, it's an emotional time, but,
um, I'm excited for the new chapter.
[Craig] Are there scenarios in
which it makes sense to talk about
some of our best prospects
in trade situations?
Of course, there are.
You know, but having those
conversations as a reaction to emotion
or as a reaction to
a moment in time,
I think, is a really fast way
to get this train off its rails.
[Speier] "Can't-miss
prospect" is an oxymoron
because can't-miss
prospects can always miss.
The Red Sox have had elite prospects,
some of the best in all of baseball,
who've never become what
they were supposed to be.
Although, with regards to
quote-unquote the big three,
if this goes right, then
you're looking at players
who have a chance to be
all-star caliber players
and potentially superstars, if
they're able to remain healthy.
[man] I hope we're not sitting here a
month from now, two months from now,
at the end of the
season, saying,
"Man, if they had just
done a little bit more,
if they had made one more move."
Why would you not
want big moves?
You want the Red Sox to
be the Red Sox again.
'Cause of your top 30 prospects,
you probably have three guys
you'd really like to hold on to.
Mayer, Anthony, and Teel.
If you trade one of those guys, you
maybe get a real impact major leaguer
who's going to be
here for a while.
As we learned today, Roman
Anthony was untouchable.
It seems that Marcelo
Mayer was untouchable.
It seems that Kyle
Teel was untouchable.
They're better today than five days
ago. Cora's not lying when he says that.
This should keep them
in the hunt… ish.
- [music continues]
- [patrons chattering]
It's crazy to think about how many
people are constantly asking us, like,
when we're gonna
get out of here.
It's wild.
I mean, like, you say all the
time, that's out of our control.
For us, it's like, just how fun it's
gonna be when we get called up, and…
It's gonna be sick, bro.
It's like being where your feet is,
but, like, also having that vision
of the future at the same time.
- You know?
- [Mayer] We've done it since we were kids.
And now that we're,
like, close to it, like…
[Kyle] In freaking
Boston, dude. That's sick.
- I know.
- [Kyle] Sick.
Dude, I want to
get there already.
[music continues]
[Craig] In this position, you
always feel pressure to win,
but I would not want
to hold this position
in a place where there wasn't the
expectation or the demand to win now.
We've asked our fans to be
patient, to make sacrifices,
while we built out
this foundation,
and we're now putting all of our
efforts into building a playoff team.
- I'm gonna go get some sleep.
- You do that, man.
- Good job, man.
- Thanks.
- All right.
- We're good.
- Nice work, my man. See you tomorrow.
- All right. Take care.
[music fades]
[producer] Are you tired?
[Craig] I am.
[rousing rock music plays]
[music mellows]
[music fades out]
[mellow electric
guitar music plays]
[music fades out]
[earth skitters]
- [baby giggles]
- [gulls calling]
[waves crashing]
[clicking]
- [commentator] Number 23.
- [crowd cheers]
[strings stab]
[cheering fades]
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01x06 - Episode 6
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Follows the Boston Red Sox during the 2024 MLB season with unprecedented access to players, coaches and executives.
Follows the Boston Red Sox during the 2024 MLB season with unprecedented access to players, coaches and executives.